Page 133 of Just One Kiss

She groaned and pulled away from the curb. “Don’t read anything into it.”

“You said you forgave him, Ma,” Jaden said.

“You weren’t supposed to be listening.”

He shrugged.

“Besides, I told you that a long time ago.”

“Yeah, but this time you meant it.”

Did she? She did a quick gut check and noticed that little ball of anger that she carried with her wasn’t there anymore. How was that possible given her exchange with Josh the night before? They’d left things poorly—not even on speaking terms. How could she even suggest she’d forgiven him? “Just because I don’t want your grandpa talking about your dad in front of you or anyone else doesn’t mean I’m still in love with him.”

“Yeah, okay.” Jaden stared out the window.

“Jaden, listen. I know you think your dad is a great guy—and he is, in his own way—but there’s no future for him and me.”

“You don’t know that.”

She slowed to a stop in front of a streetlamp. “Yes, I do.”

“But you said you forgave him, and that’s a huge step, Ma.”

“I can forgive him without repeating my past mistakes.”

Jaden scoffed. “So everything you said in there—all that stuff about second chances—?”

“Was true,” Carly said.

“But you won’t give Dad one. I get it.”

“He’s in your life, isn’t he? Isn’t that enough?” Carly stepped on the gas again and turned toward home. “I don’t have to get back together with him in order to prove I’ve forgiven him.”

“He loves you, Mom,” Jaden said.

Carly tapped the steering wheel with her thumb. “But sometimes love just isn’t enough.”

34

Josh stared at his childhood home, not a trace of nostalgia in his mind.

His memories of the house were filled with angst. Tiptoeing around his dad. Watching his mom walk on eggshells. Finally getting tired of it as an older teenager and fighting back.

It occurred to him that you could never tell the truth about what went on inside a home when looking at it from the outside.

The perfectly manicured yard, the clean porch, the welcome mat under the door—it all suggested something that didn’t exist.

A happy home.

He didn’t know why he was here. He hadn’t seen or spoken to his parents since he left the hospital that day. He had words bubbling at the back of his throat. Truth he’d held on to since he was young—was today the day he finally said it all aloud?

The memory of a day years ago crawled up the back of his brain, begging for attention.

Hadn’t he proven he was just like his father? Angry. Violent. Ill-tempered?

Hadn’t he shown that beyond a shadow of a doubt?

He shoved thoughts of Dylan out of his mind.

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